History Theatre / SwanLake

** The Boston Ballet had [[spoiler:Rothbart defeated, but his spell was unbreakable even in death, leaving Odette a swan. Siegfried followed Odette into the lake and drowned.]] A similar ending by the Royal Ballet had [[spoiler:Siegfried rescue Odette only to find her dead]].

** The 1981 anime version has an ending that is played very ambiguously as to whether it's happy or bittersweet, as [[spoiler: Odette and Siegfried could have survived, or it could be their spirits that are seen reuniting in the end. It's done so that either interpretation is valid.]]

* ''Swan Lake 1981'' (an anime adaptation [[http://www.discotekmedia.com/Swan-Lake-1981-Anime.htm rescued]] by Discotek Media)

* IdiotBall: Siegfried has it bad in the 1981 anime, where Odile tells him her real name and he ''still'' thinks she's Odette, including thinking he misheard Odette originally telling him her name. Although Odile comes alone in this version.

* NotGoodWithRejection: Rothbart in the anime, and how! He destroyed Odette’s home kingdom, kidnapped her and turned her into a swan to have her all for himself, and uses all of his magical power to prevent Odette from marrying Siegfried, even holding his sword at Siegfried’s neck during the climax to force Odette to marry Rothbart! Odile isn’t any better, urging her father to kill Odette when she turns him down again and when Siegfried turns her down, she says that her father can kill him.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The anime has Odile as a HypercompetentSidekick to her father, while Rothbart himself is a lovesick buffoon...until the ending, where he conjures tornadoes, uses his magic to separate Siegfried from Odette and forces Odette to agree to marry him by holding his sword at Siegfried’s neck. That said, Odette’s explanation of the circumstances behind her being captured by Rothbart does foreshadow his being very dangerous at the end.

* NotGoodWithRejection: Rothbart in the anime, and how! He destroyed Odette’s home kingdom, kidnapped her and turned her into a swan to have her all for himself, and uses all of his magical power to prevent Odette from marrying Siegfried, even holding his sword at Siegfried’s neck during the climax to force Odette to marry Rothbart! Odile isn’t any better, urging her father to kill Odette when she turns him down again and when Siegfried turns her down,she says that her father can kill him.

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The anime has Odile as a HypercompetentSidekick to her father, while Rothbart himself is a lovesick buffoon...until the ending, where he conjures up tornadoes, defeats Siegfried in a swordfight and forces Odette's hand in marriage. That said, Odette’s explanation of the circumstances behind her being captured by Rothbart does foreshadow his being very dangerous at the end.

** The Milwaukee Ballet version has [[spoiler: Rothbart stabbing Odette before Siegfried’s eyes. Odette mortally wounded, is carried to the lake by Siegfried where they drown themselves. Their love defeats both Rothbart and Odlie. As in as in the 1895 ballet, the apotheosis reveals the lovers reunited in death.]]

* IGaveMyWord: von Rothbart exploits this in one of the endings by forcing Siegfried to marry Odile, who he'd mistakenly sworn to love.

** The original ending was also a downer. [[spoiler:After Siegfried throws away Odette’s protective crown and her stepmother flies off with it while disguised as an owl, the lake overflows and the lovers are drowned.]]

* DownerEnding: There are a few alternative endings including [[spoiler: Siegfried's accidental betrayal causes Odette to turn into a swan permanently and Siegfried is left alone to mourn her]] and [[spoiler: Siegfried attempts to fight Von Rothbart with the result that they both fall into the lake and drown, leaving Odette both widowed and cursed forever]]. Another has [[spoiler:Rothbart kill Siegfried and claim Odette forever, taking her away as Siegfried futilely reaches towards them in his dying moments]].

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The anime has Odile as a HypercompetentSidekick to her father, while Rothbart himself is a lovesick buffoon...until the ending, where he conjures up tornados, defeats Siegfried in a swordfight and forces Odette's hand in marriage. That said, Odette’s explanation of the circumstances behind her being captured by Rothbart does foreshadow his being very dangerous at the end.

** The Paris National is a straight up TheBadGuyWins. [[spoiler: Rothbart fights with Siegfried, who is overcome and dies, leaving Rothbart to take Odette triumphantly up to the heavens.]]

** Another is a straight up TheBadGuyWins. [[spoiler: Rothbart fights with Siegfried, who is overcome and dies, leaving Rothbart to take Odette triumphantly up to the heavens.]]
** Still another has [[spoiler: the Prince drag Rothbart into the lake, where both drown. Odette is left as a swan, cursed and widowed forever.]] The Ballet Jörgen version has a similar ending except that [[spoiler: Rothbart‘s death frees Odette from his curse.]]

** In The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada productions, Prince Siegfried has two younger sisters whereas most productions imply that he is an only child.

** In The Royal Ballet production, Prince Siegfried has two younger sisters whereas most productions imply that he is an only child.

** The Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet productions have removed von Rothbart either to create an original story (in the case of the Northern Ballet production) or to modernise the narrative (in the case of the Scottish Ballet production).

** Still another has [[spoiler: the Prince drag Rothbart into the lake, where both drown. Odette is left as a swan, cursed and widowed forever.]]

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: In versions where the prologue is used, Siegfried dreams of Odette and her transformation before meeting her. [[spoiler: In one variation, this turns out to also be foreshadowing a DyingDream that he has in the finale]].

** In The Royal Ballet, production Prince Siegfried has two younger sisters whereas most productions imply that he is an only child.

** In The Royal Ballet production Prince Siegfried has two younger sisters whereas most productions imply that he is an only child.

** Lac by Jean Christophe Maillot adds a father for the prince who is the king. Most productions don’t explain the king’s absence though it’s safe to assume that he is already dead by the time of the ballet’s events. [[note]] The Birmingham Royal Ballet production, to its credit, opens with the funeral procession of the king in order to explain his absence.[[/note]]

** The Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet productions have removed von Rothbart to create create an original story (in the case of the Northern Ballet production) or to modernise the narrative (in the case of the Scottish Ballet production).